Thirty Years of Ministry: A Response
to Criticism
For many years, Mormons have tried to explain to their people
the reason Judy and I left the Mormon Church. When their missionaries
seek out potential converts, they are frequently asked if the
missionaries are familiar with the Robertsons and Concerned Christians.
The Mormons will immediately respond that they know who we are
and that we not only teach lies, but that we were excommunicated
from the Mormon Church for a variety of reasons. The most common
reason given is that we left because we wanted to commit adultery.
As I sit and write this article, Judy and I today are celebrating
our 44th wedding anniversary.
Another rumor is we left because someone offended us or that
I had a bad business experience with another Mormon, etc. None
of this is true! Their justification in saying this is that no
one would leave "the only true church" because of things they
read in the Bible; all ex-Mormons who leave must have done something
immoral and were forced out of the church. I can emphatically
say that we left as a result of studying God's word, the Holy
Bible and after much prayer.
So when someone tells you that we or any other Mormon left for
any other reason, ask them to provide proof of it. Mormons have
been misled by their own leaders.
Another false report that needs clarification regards the witnessing
we do at the Mormon Temple here in Mesa. During the Easter Pageant
and at the Christmas lights display, our people are there only
to pass out tracts. This is done in a loving manner and to answer
any questions that may be asked. There are others who come to
witness to Mormons and to warn the unsuspecting Christians who
come. Some of these people do not come with love in their hearts.
They carry offensive signs and have rather harsh words for or
about the Mormons. It is not being done with an attitude of love.
This is not our style of witnessing, but many Mormons lump us
all together implying that Concerned Christians say and do hurtful
things at these gatherings. This is absolutely not what our people
do or say! Jesus gave us only one commandment: "Thou shalt love
the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and
with all thy strength, and with all thy mind: and thy neighbor
as thyself." (Luke 10:27) So as we obey this commandment of
love, we recognize that to say or do otherwise is not obeying
Christ.
Now I want to tell you something very positive. This month (September)
Concerned Christians is celebrating 30 years of ministry. It's
hard to believe that so many years have gone by since leaving
Mormonism and coming to Christ. We have seen hundreds of lives
change from living in fear, wondering if they had done enough
good works, to the freedom they now have in Christ Jesus. We have
seen this ministry grow from a mom and pop organization to one
of over 7500 families. And the ministry has now been influential
all over the world as we receive mail and requests from all corners
of this earth. God has truly blessed Judy and me! It's been a
labor of love we couldn't have done without you and we want to
thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
Jim Robertson
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A Comparison of the LDS Articles of Faith and
the Bible – Part 3 by Lloyd Sharp
So far we have seen articles one through five. Now we move on
to articles six and seven.
Article 6: "We believe in the same organization that existed
in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors,
teachers, evangelists, and so forth."
While the sixth Article claims they believe in the same
organization of the early apostolic church, this is not what is
practiced. According to Mormonism, it is only through apostolic
succession that proper authority is given to LDS prophets and
apostles. However, the New Testament knows nothing of an unbroken
line of prophets and apostles. Neither does it teach that the
apostles of Christ ordained any successors to replace them once
they died.
"The apostles did not exercise any power of appointing
successors…. Paul never taught apostolic succession nor did he
believe that one apostle or bishop could transmit the gift [of
apostleship] to another, nor that the sacred office could be confined
to any channel or given or withheld by those who already enjoyed
it…. They had no successors as we understand the term.
They were chosen by their Lord for a specific task and endowed
with particular gifts for its accomplishment, and their office
and their gifts terminated with the apostles when their work was
finished." (All the Apostles of the Bible, Herbert Lockyer, p.264,
insert added, emphasis original)
While the leaders of the LDS church are the ones who chose the
successors of the offices of prophet and apostle in their church,
it was the Lord who chose the original apostles and sent them
out to witness in His name (Luke 10:1).
The New Testament church placed apostles in authority over prophets
(1 Corinthians 12:28). The LDS church has a prophet in authority
over apostles. The LDS church also has a quorum of seventy that
assists in the leading of the LDS church. Nowhere is this found
in the Book of Mormon or the Bible. Luke 10:1 mentions the appointment
of seventy (seventy-two in some Biblical manuscripts) disciples
by Jesus to prepare the way for His ministry on His way to Jerusalem.
Nowhere are these seventy placed under authority of the apostles.
Indeed, they are appointed and directed by the Lord Himself and
not the apostles!
Article 7: "We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy,
revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues, and so
forth."
The problem here is not the wording of the Article nearly as
much as the definitions poured into the words. Specifically the
words ‘prophecy' and ‘revelation' take on a significant importance
when we look at the LDS interpretation.
According to the Mormon church the ‘prophecy' and ‘revelation'
of the church President (currently Gordon B. Hinkley) is to be
treated as holy writ, even if it conflicts with the ‘prophecy'
and ‘revelation' of former church leaders.
"In addition to these four books of scripture [The Bible, Book
of Mormon, Doctrine & Covenants and Pearl of Great Price], the
inspired words of our living prophets become scripture to us."
(Gospel Principles, 1986 ed. p. 52, inserts added)
While Bible believing Christians believe in prophecy, we do
so only in the sense of forth telling that which has already
been revealed, not in fore telling events yet to occur.
The Bible is clear that God used prophets in the past, but now
speaks to us through Christ (Heb. 1:1).
In our next issue of The Cross we will examine the eighth
Article of Faith. This article calls into question the validity
of the Bible, so we will take the entire article to examine this
claim.
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Latter-day Saints: Hooked on a "Good Works"
Feelin' — Part 3 by Bob Betts
In the fifth LDS Missionary Discussion entitled, Living a Christ-like
Life, it states: "Through sacrifice we can know the joy of sharing
and giving. We feel the influence of the Holy Spirit growing stronger
in our lives. We may not be asked to sacrifice everything. But
we should learn to sacrifice willingly whatever is required. Doing
so helps us become worthy to live in the presence of God."
(Bold emphasis added)
MISSING THE MARK
Without a clear understanding of the Bible, what the above quote
says can make perfect sense and sound completely biblical to the
average professing Christian or seeker. It appeals to the human
desire to feel good. Yet, it's completely unbiblical.
Before I explain, let me add another Mormon quote to the mix;
a familiar Book of Mormon verse (2 Nephi 25:23b), which attempts
to blend works and grace like oil and water: "…for we know that
it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do." It starts
out right; it IS "by grace ye are saved…" according to the Ephesians
2:8-10 passage to which Joseph Smith was alluding. But, then he
takes a Uturn and contradicts God's doctrine of salvation. Let's
finish the Ephesians passage: salvation is by grace "…through
faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not
of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before
ordained that we should walk in them."
Salvation IS by grace through faith and is a gift of God. Salvation
is NOT of works, or else man could boast that he deserves it because
he earned it. Man IS created in Christ to do good works which
God fore ordained.
Joseph Smith totally did not get it. Grace, by definition, is
undeserved merit or favor. Since salvation is not attained by
any merit or effort on our part, then the good works that Joseph
injected into what is the LDS plan of salvation (based on 2 Nephi
25:23b) nullifies grace. If good works could attain salvation,
then that self-attained salvation also nullifies the need for
Jesus' death on the cross.
GOD'S "GOOD WORKS" ARE ALL ABOUT GOD
God provides the means for the atonement for our sins in Christ's
shed blood on the cross. Therefore, His followers do not do good
works because they must, in order to earn salvation, but because
they desire to do so out of love for God. (1 John 4:9- 11). Plus,
"We love because He first loved us" (1 John 4:19). So, then, who
deserves glory? God!
MORMONISM'S "GOOD WORKS" ARE ALL ABOUT MAN
In the LDS plan of salvation, man receives God's grace "after
all (the works) he can do." In addition, LDS say Jesus atoned
for Adams sins with His blood in the Garden of Gethsemane, not
our sins and not on the cross. So, in Mormonism, who would be
able to boast of the rewards they deserve and for which they expect
to receive the glory? MAN! Joseph Smith said, "Here, then, is
eternal life - to know the only wise and true God; and you have
got to learn how to be Gods yourselves, and to be kings and priests
to God, the same as all Gods have done before you,...To inherit
the same power, the same glory and the same exaltation, until
you arrive at the station of a God,..." (Teachings of the
Prophet Joseph Smith, pp. 346, 347, emphasis added) In Mormonism,
it's all about the glorification and even the deification of man.
In that fifth Missionary Discussion, the LDS church leaves no
doubt that it is through YOUR sacrifice (not Christ's) that you
can know the joy of sharing and giving. Through YOUR sacrifice
you can feel the influence of the Holy Spirit growing stronger
in your life. YOUR worthiness to live in the presence of God is
yours for the taking if YOU will just make the necessary sacrifices
and be willing to do whatever is required.
The biblical perspective dictates that it shouldn't be about
OUR sacrifices or OUR feelings. Good works are already prepared
by God for us to perform after we are born of His Spirit.
SERIES SUMMARY
Don't be fooled by the feel-good approach to any religion, let
alone Mormonism. We shouldn't live by our emotions, but by the
Word of God. And, the subjective nature of our feelings won't
bring us salvation. Only the Words of God are life (John 6:63-
69).
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Does "Close" Count When It Comes to the Truth?
By Judy Robertson
We've all heard that "close" only counts in the game of horseshoes.
Does it count if we're "close" when it comes to knowing who Jesus
is?
In our society today it's culturally correct to say that whatever
a person believes is okay as long as it doesn't harm others. However,
the doctrine of Mormonism does harm its believers in many ways.
How? Truths about Jesus are distorted to the point of shutting
the door of heaven in its members' faces.
The prophecies in the Old Testament about how and where
Jesus would be born; who He said He was; the kind of
death Jesus said He'd die; and what His death accomplished,
are made impotent by the prophets of the Mormon church.
How and where would Jesus be born?
The Bible tells us that Jesus was born of a virgin in Bethlehem.
This was prophesied in the Old Testament and evidence in the New
Testament shows that these prophecies were 100% accurate. (Isaiah
7:14, 9:6 Matthew 1:18; 2:1,4,6,15) However, the Book of Mormon
says in Alma 7:10 that Jesus was born in Jerusalem. Well, Jerusalem
is "close" but not right on target. The prophesies in the Old
Testament are more than close. "Every word of God is flawless;
he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not add to
his words, or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar" (Proverbs
30:5-6).
How would Jesus be born?
Clearly, Jesus' birth was the work of the Holy Spirit. (see
Luke 1:26-35) "All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had
said through the prophet. ‘The virgin will be with child and will
give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel' which means,
‘God with us'" (Matthew 1:22-23).
On this important truth, Mormon Doctrine is not even "close."
It teaches "God the Father became the literal father (emphasis
added) of Jesus Christ" (Gospel Principles, Page 64). Bruce R.
McConkie is even more graphic: "Christ was begotten by an Immortal
Father in the same way that mortal men are begotten by mortal
fathers" (Mormon Doctrine, pp 546-547). And Joseph F. Smith said,
"He [Jesus] was not born without the aid of Man, and that Man
was God!" (Doctrines of Salvation, Volume 1, page 18).
How would Jesus die?
The kind of death Jesus died was foretold by Him and
is important because it shows His Word is truth, and that He is
the One He claimed to be. (See John 8:28) "But I, when I am lifted
up from the earth, will draw all men to my self.' He said this
to show the kind of death He was going to die" (John 12:32-33
emphasis added). The tree, or cross is significant because it
shows that His death, the kind of death He would die was fulfilled
as prophesied. Yet a Mormon visual aid shows "In the Garden of
Gethsemane, Christ took upon himself the sins of all mankind"
(Gospel Principles, pp 67-70)
This occurred the night before Jesus died on the cross. Close
enough? No. When God's Word is fulfilled exactly as He said, it
demonstrates the power of God. The message of the cross cannot
be compromised. It is foolishness to do so.
What did Jesus' death accomplish?
At Calvary's cross "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on
our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him"
(2 Corinthians 5:21). This truth is the most important of all
truths. Our righteousness is not of our own accomplishment but
on what Jesus did on our behalf.
Is the Mormon teaching close enough when it states: "Christ
did his part to atone for our sins. To make his atonement
fully effective in our lives, we must strive to obey him
and repent of our sins."? And when Elder Boyd K. Packer of the
council of the Twelve said, "Christ's atonement makes it possible
to be saved from sin if we do our part" (Gospel Principles, pp
70- 75). So in Mormonism we have Christ's atonement plus our own
efforts. This is close. Yet so far away. Christ death accomplished
it all for us. If Mormons believe they must help Jesus because
His work on the cross was not enough, then Mormons have missed
the mark completely. Jesus said, "Many will say to me on that
day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your
name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will
tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'"
(Matthew 7:22-23).
In the game of horseshoes when one throws a horseshoe close
to the peg, it counts. But "Close" doesn't count at all when it
comes to the knowledge of the son of God and what His death on
the cross accomplished for us. Let's not allow those who have
been blindsided by The Deciever to go on being "close." The Word
of God is "flawless." May we determine to know it well and be
bold in proclaiming its clear simple gospel message that is right
on the peg, a horseshoe "ringer."
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FROM THE MAIL BAG
Dear Concerned Christians,
Your article on the DNA was really good. I have passed it around
and it may not get back to me, but maybe it does more good that
way. Thanks for the work you are doing to reach the lost.
Yuma, AZ
Hi Jim & Judy,
Thanks for continuing to send us the newsletter. We enjoy hearing
about folks coming to the Lord, especially the Mormons. They are
so following a false prophet and a false religion. We have just
sent the new video, "DNA verses the Book of Mormon." It is devastating
and will hopefully open the eyes of those so blinded.
Queen Creek, AZ
Dear Concerned Christians,
God bless you in your mission to the Mormons! Your love for the
Lord and for the Mormons is encouraging and hopeful to those of
us who have temporarily lost a loved one to the LDS. I pray that
my son will have a "Road to Damascus" experience and make a u-turn
back to the Jesus of the Bible. Please keep me on your newsletter
mailing list. I will be praying for your continuing ministry to
the beloved "lost sheep." Please pray that my son will have a
strong Bible believing Christian come into his life, who will
love him to Jesus and the true gospel.
Clinton, WA
Hi Guys,
Thank you so much for your help. I do appreciate it more than
you know. I have this yearning inside to make sure no one else
is deceived by them and am in a good place to minister to people.
I just never thought my name was still on their records until
I read "Out of Mormonism" by Judy Robertson. So I'm now being
aggressive in my task to have my name removed.
Safford, AZ
Hey, Y'All,
Thank you for all you have sacrificed to help others. You are
the sugar in the lemon juice, which then becomes "God's Lemonade!"
Gilbert, AZ
Dear Mr. Robertson,
Thank you so much for sending us the newsletter. I shared it with
pastor and he ordered several books and tracts from you. We are
also Concerned Christians and very much want to tell the Mormons
about the real Jesus. My husband and I want to stay in touch with
you to see how your work is progressing. Enclosed is our donation
to help you complete the job.
Taber, Alberta, Canada
Dear Staff at Concerned Christians,
I really appreciate what your organization does, including sending
out such a wonderful newsletter. It is especially good because
it has current information about actual data and facts being taught
by the LDS "chameleon" church. This is important because as the
LDS church tries more and more to sound like a Christian church,
people need to understand why it is not. Enclosed is a check for
your ministry.
Tucson, AZ
Dear Concerned Christians,
I am writing because I want to make a request for you to send
me your witnessing resource catalog about Mormonism. My interest
comes from the fact that most of my family is involved in the
Mormon religion. I want to let them know about the true gospel
of the real Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I would very much appreciate
your help. Thank you very much and may God bless you all.
State Prison — Florence, AZ
Concerned Christians,
Hi! I'm just barely coming out of Mormonism and would like to
receive your newsletter. I've just finished reading a book called
"Out of Mormonism" by Judy Robertson. Please let me know if there's
anything I can do to help your ministry. Please pray for me as
I live in Salt Lake City and it's getting very hard as I tell
various friends.
Salt Lake City, UT
Dear Friends
We are delighted to be receiving your newsletter, "The Cross."
Since my son and I have left the Mormon church, the Lord has opened
our eyes to many things we never realized before. We no longer
need to work our way to heaven, not knowing if we had done enough
"good works" to be able to make it to the highest heaven. Thank
heaven we know better than that now.
Chelmsford, England
Dear Jim,
Greetings from the Kulpahar Children's Orphanage here in India.
We are finally getting our much needed monsoon rains. Thanks for
sending "The Cross" newsletter; I really enjoy reading it though
we don't see many Mormons around here. My prayers are with you
and all who labor with you.
Kulpahar, India
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